Will Christians in the last time go through the tribulation?

This text is from a letter written by David Gooding in 2002.

I think the matter is not settled by simply calling into question, and rightly so, the extreme dispensationalism taught by certain colleges. It is the fact that, according to Scripture, the great tribulation will be a time of unparalleled trial. That fact has frequently been used as a kind of a bogey to scare believers. One ought to notice, therefore, that in the major passages, both in the Old Testament and in the New, which mention the great tribulation, Scripture goes out of its way to comfort and assure God's people. For example:

• And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1)
• And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. (Matthew 24:22)
• Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Revelation 3:10)

Here, then, is the promise of being kept. The argument, therefore, turns on what this verse means by being kept from. Does it mean being kept from ever entering into trial? Or, being kept from being overcome by it when in the trial? As far as I am aware, the matter cannot finally be settled merely through Greek linguistics, and we each must make up his or her mind upon the topic.

However, it is to be noticed that the normal way in which this question is expressed is itself a little misleading. It is often asked, 'Will the church go through the tribulation?' But that is not an exact way of talking. Perhaps the majority of the church is already in heaven. The question is, rather, 'Will those members of the church who are living in that last time be allowed to go through the tribulation, or not?' That will be, perhaps, a very tiny proportion of the church. And, seeing that all down the ages, there have been Christians who have been allowed to go through the bitterest of persecution to the point of losing their lives, it is impossible to think that Scripture says that there are some Christians who will never be allowed to go through any kind of tribulation at all. On the other hand, it is the fact that some believers are not called upon to endure much tribulation. I myself have not been called upon to bear very much. It is the Lord himself, of course, who decides how much, or how little, tribulation his people are called to endure. And that is what the verse in Revelation 3:10 says: 'Because you have kept the word of my patience, I will keep you'. In other words, it is not the question of dispensational truth that decides these things, it is the Lord, in his own sovereignty.

As I say, each Christian must make up his or her own mind on the topic. For my part, I don't believe it is a fundamental of the faith, and we should not treat the difference of views that people have upon this topic as though they were fundamentally important. There is one sure way that we can find out, and that is by waiting until the Lord comes, when he will make clear to us all what obviously he has not thought it wise to make clear beyond all doubt in holy Scripture itself.

Yours sincerely in Christ,